To achieve small-sized large-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitors, dielectric layers have been thinned and the number of stacked dielectric layers has been increased. The design of dielectric layers that determine the characteristics of the multilayer ceramic capacitor is important. For example, disclosed is a technique that diffuses Ni into 3 to 30% of the distance between internal electrodes to improve the temperature characteristic of the capacitance (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-4027, for example).
However, in the above described technique, a base metal is not diffused in the middle portion of the dielectric layer in the stacking direction, and therefore, the concentration of the base metal may be partially high in the stacking direction. The part with a high concentration of the base metal decreases the permittivity of the dielectric layer.